LETTER FROM THE TEACHING PROFESSIONAL
PRACTICE WITH A PURPOSE
Greetings Eaglebrooke ! Spring is here , and that means that we will have daylight longer during this time of year , a welcome sight for those who work during the week . With that extra daylight to practice after work , many players have every intention of getting to the course and going out to the practice area to get ready for the weekend round , but how we utilize our practice time can make all the difference when we show up to play .
Have you ever thought about how you practice ? I ’ m sure there is a warmup phase , some wedges or small shots , some mid irons and full swings , some fairway woods , and some driver swings . But once our warmup routine is done then what ? Do we attempt to solve what swing flaws we feel and see ? Do we try and adjust different things to try to alter the ball flight ? Or are we going to simply just try to find some consistency or feel in the swing ?
Well , seeing what “ works ” to make the intended result happen will never lead to any type of consistency on the golf course . All you will do is get into a “ range rhythm ” and therefore we are changing things from shot to shot to produce the intended result . Range rhythm doesn ’ t work because in the game of golf , we have one ball , one chance , one swing to make the result . Having a bucket of range balls and saying to yourself do this or that on this shot will only give you a false sense that you have created that “ feel ” needed to hit a shot . In short , we are playing “ swing ” not the game of golf .
When it comes to practicing , we need to make some goals heading into the practice session . I have always been a big advocate of going through a usual warmup routine , and then coming up with small practice goals . For example , we are going to hit the ball with a mid-iron working on trajectory , but just by changing the ball position in the stance , we are going to hit 4 sets of 3 balls hitting the ball high , mid , and low . The goal would be to accomplish at least 2 of the 3 desired shot trajectories in each set . We would then set a time frame of 15 minutes , to accomplish the goal . This has set the parameters for practicing with a purpose .
Once we have a goal , parameters set , and a clear idea of what we are getting ready to do now it is time to make the result happen but in a manner that replicates how we would play out there on the course . For example , if we are working on hitting a lower trajectory shot and we go through and set up properly , swing the club , and we did not produce the intended result . Well , rather than reaching for another ball and trying again , I would step back and just take a minute or two and go through how I got to the point of standing over the ball , and making sure that I had clear in my mind what I was trying to do , and to run through what my process was before standing over the ball , and what I felt as I was swinging . Taking some time to reflect on the shot rather than just
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